Tonucci & Partners provides legal advice on all issued related to the electric-power market, not only concerning regulatory questions, but also, by means of collaboration with other Departments of the Firm, concerning fair competition and EU rights, environment, corporate, administrative and litigation issues thus allowing for an exhaustive approach either than a sector-specific one.

The Firm has regular contact with Regulatory Authorities, such as the Antitrust Authority, the Electric Power and Gas Authority, and other institutional subjects (Independent Transmission System Operator-GRTN, Electricity Market Operator-GME, Only Vendee, Minister for Productive Activities, etc).

By providing consulting services to key players in the market, the Firm has gained significant experience in the electric power production sector, ranging from renewable energy sources (RES) to conventional ones (i.e. CCGT),.
Lately, the Firm has been managing authorization issues (as a result of the recent simplification in the procedure to establish RES power plants, conventional power plants, and related works like the construction of long distance power lines linked to the national transmission grid, power sub-stations, methane pipelines, etc.), environmental issues (environmental impact assessment at national and regional level, interferences with polluted sites reclamation discipline, etc.), and negotiation issues of corporate and bank agreements to determine the financial feasibility of projects.

With regard to RES plants, the Firm in addition to supervising many projects, has also consulted on matters of state subsidies (Interministerial Price Committee Resolution CIP/6, cogeneration and, more recently, green certificates with annexed IAFR plant certification, bilateral negotiation of green certificates or in GME-Electricity Market Operator ad hoc market), which also have become meaningful to conventional energy suppliers, once they fulfill their obligations for a "clean" energy emission quota.

Concerning "conventional" power plants, the Firm managed the authorization process of several power generation plants with potentials of more than 3000MW; the Firm consulted on location, coherence with existing infrastructures and with infrastructures projected by GRTN (Independent Transmission System Operator) in the Development Plan, coherence with regional Energy Plans, expropriation and relationships with involved local bodies (minimization of the "NIMBY" effects).

For both types of generation plants (RES and conventional ones), the Firm has examined applicability issues regarding the EU discipline on public bids and drafted the related contractual agreements, advising both on economic feasibility to project financing, on the construction to O&M, and on drafting bilateral contracts of energy power sale and/or stock placement (therefore including all wholesale activities and stock market operation issues).

In addition, the Firm provides global consulting on energy rights, paying special attention to the business opportunities arising from the recently implemented directives (priority in derogation of TPA system in case of new interconnection power lines or LNG terminals or imported gas pipelines; realization of RES plants; realization of new long distance power lines in the national transmission grid, etc.).

In the process of advising a major operator in the electric power import sector of interconnected grids, the Firm studied the normative and regulatory provisions regarding electric power import issues in Italy, with particular reference to the modalities for transmission capacity allocation and to the changes introduced by the Italian regulator in accordance to the EU Regulation n. 1228/2003 concerning electric power trans-frontier exchanges.

The Firm has assisted market operators with litigation issues before administrative justice organs about AEEG (Electricity and Gas Regulator) resolutions or to dispel competitors' initiatives aimed to prevent the realization of turbo-gas power plants.

Natural Gas

The Firm provides assistance with the realization/operation of power generation plants (tolling agreements, natural gas supplying contracts for turbo-gas power plants etc.) and with specific aspects of the gas market .

The Firmhas examined all the issues related to (i) gas system access; (ii) gas sale procedures to final customers; (iii) joint venture contracts with municipalized gas distribution companies.

Furthermore, the Firm has advised on: (i) drafting and negotiation of transmission and distribution contracts with extra-EU companies; (ii) drafting and negotiation of take-or-pay contracts; (iii) renegotiation of natural gas price by eligible customers in order to comply with AEEG (Electricity and Gas Regulator) directives; (iv) authorization for import of extra-EU natural gas; (v) privatization of state owned companies operating in the Eastern Europe gas sector.

Particular emphasis has been placed on the new business opportunities for this target market, as a consequence of the State incentive policies regarding new imported gas pipeline and LNG plants construction (exemption from TPA).

Environment

The firm has broad experience in the environmental sector, which increasingly attracts attention from EU and national legislators.

The Department obtains authorizations relative to industrial settlements (national and regional VIA, VAS, authorizations under Legislative Decree n. 152/1999 etc.), and evaluates the management of the environmental "risk" involved in prospected or existing initiatives (polluted sites reclamation, environmental compensation, relationships with competent authorities in case of alleged violations of the environmental directives, coherence with landscape and environmental restraints in accordance with the cultural and environmental goods Code, etc.).

The Firm also gained a remarkable experience in the industrial waste sector (disposal, waste material reconversion through waste-to-energy technology etc.) by advising a stock listed environmental service provider.

The Firm also provides assistance in selecting the location of relative technological infrastructures (radio base stations).

Today environmental consulting tends to stress issues of new emission trading provisions (and the negotiation of emission allowances or black certificates issues), of the IPPC (or integrated environmental authorization) and of energy efficiency (Ministerial Decree 20 July 2004, with special attention to white certificates and to the ESCO's role).

Local Public Services

Through its relationship with one of the most relevant operators in the environmental sector, the Firm has focused on local public services, which are the object of progressive alignment with EC Treaty principles.

In terms of consulting and litigation, particular attention has been devoted to (concerning consulting and litigation matters): (i) private partner selection procedures and modalities in the so called mixed companies operating in the utilities sector: from how to join bids (fulfillment of formalities, due diligence, arrangement of bid and industrial plan, arrangement and negotiation of parasocial agreements) to the concrete management of the relationship with the public shareholder; (ii) operational opportunities for local public services companies (extra moenia activities, mixed companies eligibility as award-administrators, etc.); (iii) purchase and sale of mixed companies stocks; (iv) restraints imposed on local public services direct trustee by the sector's normative reform; (v) evaluating the possibilities to entrust in-house undertakings.

The Firms has worked with the integrated water supply, public illumination, integrated waste cycle, natural gas and electric power distribution, local public transportation sectors.